23 January 2009

Yet another important story that happened earlier this week and ignored in the wall-to-wall inauguration coverage. A small rally by black gay activists on Chicago's South Side called attention to problems "faced by Black LGBT people in healthcare, employment, social services and the criminal-justice system"

In the frigid January temperatures, marchers walked east along 79th Street, carrying signs that read "Proud to be black and gay," "We will not back down," and "Honor my family." Marc Loveless, the well-known Chicago black gay activist who heads the Coalition for Justice and Respect, says the city's black gay men and lesbians are still very vulnerable.

"[Loveless] noted in particular the three-year-old shooting deaths of two Black gay men at 79th Street and Woodlawn Avenue—a development Loveless said is a hate crime that remains unsolved. Loveless said that the passage of Proposition 8, the recent California state initiative banning same-sex marriage, served as a reminder of the importance of grassroots organizing by the LGBT community. Despite the historic election of President Barack Obama, Loveless said, "The effort of social justice is not over with the election of any official."

Bob Schwartz, an activist with the Gay Liberation Network, echoed Loveless' remarks. Schwartz pointed to the recent police killing of a young Black man in Oakland, as well as the ongoing struggles of Hurricane Katrina survivors, as examples of work still needed in order to reach the goals of social justice and racial equality.

Activists with the Chicago-based Coalition for Justice and Respect (CJR)tell the Windy City Times they have received an average of "one
complaint per week over the past year regarding" treatment at the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center. The CORE Center is run by the Cook County Bureau of Health Services and its website says it "serves as a national model of outpatient care" for the HIV positive.

"The CORE center is a local shame, an
embarrassment of employees and an insult to the public," said CJR's
Marc Loveless at a City Hall press conference.

Marlon Thompson, a former employee and patient at the CORE Center
claims he overheard management and employees at CORE use racial and
homophobic epithets. Thompson says after he filed a complaint with his
immediate supervisor and nothing was done about it he resigned from his
position as a retention specialist in late October.

"I brought it up on several occasions about certain talk that I would
hear and things that were said that were negative about gay people,"
Thompson said. "I felt like that was an insult. so I felt like I had to
leave." Thompson said he described what he called “blatant homophobia”
that surrounds the CORE Center in his letter of resignation.

Loveless also claims significant discrimination against transgender women seeking treatment. One black transgender woman filed a claim with CORE's human resources department and the Cook County Inspector General "after a doctor told her he felt
it was immoral to give her hormones while treating her for HIV."

Loveless and the CJR want a full investigation into the claims
of anti-gay and anti-trans bias and discrimination. The allegations of racial harassment and homophobia come at the same time the cash-strapped Cook County government is cutting back funding and services to hospitals. No one would have imagined accusations of bias and discrimination would rise as the budgets were cut.

14 February 2007

After the December 31 shooting of six black gay men at a Chicago house party, one little-known-fact about the city became all the more obvious: Despite boasting one of the country's largest populations of black gay men and lesbians, Chicago has few visible black lgbt leaders or activism.

"Thank God nobody died. But out of that tragic incident, we're able to find our voice and our strength. After we called everyone together, we did something that's never been done before in this town," said Marc Loveless, an activist who organized the news conference. "We just said to everybody, `We need to bring this community together with people who are responsible and call them to be accountable.'"

Black gay men and lesbians are also concerned about the lack of services within the larger black community and are pushing for an LGBT youth center on the city's South Side. Vernita Gray, the black gay lesbian who is a liaison to the gay community for the Cook County state's attorney, noted that the vast majority of service and venues were on the more affluent and gay-friendly North Side. "You can go to a doctor who understands your concerns, have lunch at a friendly place and grab a cocktail."